


The Spider's Web

by n00dl3Gal



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Akechi Goro Lives, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Epilogue to an Epilogue, Fluff, Gift Fic, M/M, Post-Canon, Reunited and It Feels So Good, Romance, it's just. soft, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-01
Updated: 2019-08-01
Packaged: 2020-07-28 22:11:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20071417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/n00dl3Gal/pseuds/n00dl3Gal
Summary: Goro had climbed the thread out of whatever dark, hopeless cave he had lived in for years. Now he found himself in the spider's web.It was home.(Goro and Akira reunite after Goro's stint in prison. It's softer than it sounds.)





	The Spider's Web

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Tayani](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tayani/gifts).
  * Inspired by [The Spider's Thread](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14599938) by [Tayani](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tayani/pseuds/Tayani). 

> So this is a very, very quick little fic for Tayani who writes some of the best Shuake I've ever read. I loved Spider's Thread so much that I couldn't help but write/expand on the epilogue (with their permission). Good luck on the last few chapters of New Game+ as well!

“Aren’t you tired? Let’s call it a day and get some sleep.”  


It was a sentiment that, six months ago, Akira was certain he’d never hear again. Instantly, he was transported back to over a year past, struggling to balance all his part-time jobs, school, and leading the Phantom Thieves. It was a time he missed, but he couldn’t say he missed the stress.  


He bent down and picked Morgana up, who kicked at his arms fruitlessly. “It’s break, Morgana. I can go to bed whenever I want. Furthermore…” He sighed, rubbing his nose underneath his glasses. “I’m not sure I  _ can  _ sleep. Not tonight.”  


Despite the limited expressions Morgana’s cat face provided, Akira could still see his eyes soften. “Time’ll go by faster if you sleep,” he said wisely. “But yeah, I get what you mean.”  


His hands were shaking. It still didn’t feel real, that the year of only letters and dreams was finally,  _ finally  _ over. That by this time tomorrow night, Goro Akechi would be on probation and released from prison. That Goro Akechi would be free to come home.  


That he’d be able to  _ be  _ with Goro again.  


The past year- god, Akira knew he should be grateful, and he  _ was _ , but it was also torturous in a way he couldn’t describe. Goro was more than a lover; he was Akira’s very antithesis, other half, the person he was bonded to. Considering Satanael, it wouldn’t be that much of a stretch to call them soulmates. Akira always did have a sentimental- and cheesy- side.  


He flopped back onto his bed and sighed again. Morgana curled up next to his left arm. “I’ll try to sleep, I promise,” he said eventually, barely above a whisper. “I’m just afraid he’s… I’m afraid he’s changed, Morgana. Prison does things to people, and what if-”  


“You exchanged letters  _ yesterday, _ ” Morgana said indignantly. “He was gushing about how much he adored you and couldn’t wait to see your face. I highly doubt he’s stopped loving you.”  


_ Love.  _ The word made Akira’s stomach clench. They loved each other, right? Akira certainly knew he did, but- did Goro know? Did Goro love him back? He used the word as a term of endearment, but maybe that didn’t mean anything-

“Breath, Joker.”  


He let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. “Heh. Thanks, Mona. Alright, I’ll try to sleep. Boss said he was going to head to the prison around three, right?”

Morgana’s tail swished. “Yep! So you have plenty of time to sleep in.”  


Akira nodded and rolled onto his side, pulling out his phone. Sleep wouldn’t come for a while, if at all, but he could at least see how the rest of the gang was faring. Everybody was excited for them to truly be a unit again. “He better greet me with ‘honey, I’m home,’ or I’m breaking up with him,” he muttered to himself. He was pretty sure Morgana laughed.  


Maybe it was fifteen minutes later, maybe it was an hour, but Akira’s eyes slid shut and he began to dream.  


. . .

_ Morgana tiptoed down the stairs around midnight, quiet as a whisper. “He’s asleep- and doesn’t think we’re leaving until three. You’re good to go.”  
_

_ Futaba looked up from her laptop and smirked. “Morgana says we’re set. Let’s get back home,” she explained to Sojiro. The older man nodded and went to grab his coat. “Wanna come with?” she asked the cat.  
_

_ “Nah, he’ll get suspicious if I’m not here if he wakes up in the middle of the night. ‘Sides, I wanna see Crow too!”  
_

_ “Futaba, stop talking to the cat and let’s get you to bed.”  
_

_ “But-”  
_

_ . . .  
_

All things considered, Akira’s dream was nice. It was some park and the cherry blossoms were in full bloom, despite the snow falling. He was holding somebody’s hand, and Akira’s cheeks ahced with how much he was smiling. The problem was he couldn’t see the other person’s face. If they spoke, Akira couldn’t hear them. All he could feel was the warm grip of the other’s mitten and the snow-covered petals underfoot. He tried to let go of their hand to touch their face, but it was like their gloves were glued together. All he could do is hope the fog around them would clear.  


The fog, unfortunately, had other plans. It began to creep up Akira’s arm, swallowing him, choking him. He pulled away but couldn’t- wouldn’t- be let go. Was he screaming? Crying? Laughing? He wasn’t sure. But in the fog, he could vaguely make out the face. The jaw was chiseled, hair pulled back in a ponytail. Their voice was maybe a shade deeper than previously, but it still stirred his heart like no other sound could. Even if the face was blurry, the sensation on his lips was unmistakable. Same with the words that followed.  


_ “Good morning, love.”  
_

Akira blinked once, then his eyes shot open.  


There, just centimeters from his face, was- “ _ Goro.”  
_

He kicked his covers off as he scrambled to sit up properly, yanking Goro into a ferocious hug. Akira couldn’t do much more than that, for a few minutes- he just sat, holding Goro in his arms, breathing and sobbing and repeating his name. Goro was smoothing his hair and rubbing his back, and it was all so painfully  _ sweet  _ that it made him cry even harder.  


“Akira, please, your grip-”  


“If I let go of you,” Akira breathed, “you’ll vanish again. I can’t- I just got you back-”  


Goro wiggled out of the hold, just a bit. Enough to grab Akira’s hand and guide it up to his lips, kissing the pads of his fingers gently. He then laid the hand on his neck. “Do you feel my pulse, Akira? It’s real.  _ I’m  _ real. I’m here, love.”  


There was that word again. “I love you,” Akira choked out, wrapping his arms around Goro’s shoulders. He buried his face in his neck, hair, pressing feverish little kisses to his temple. “I never got to say- I love you, I’m in love with you,  _ te amo- _ ”  


“I love you too,” Goro answered, almost deliriously, both from joy and his own tears. “I’m- oh God. Akira, I missed you  _ so much.”  
_

Akira kissed him then, because as honey-like and sugary as the words coming from Goro’s mouth were, they were also an egregious waste of his lips. Goro smelled of an intoxicating mix of soap, steel, Sojiro’s car, and the coffee aroma that permeated all of Leblanc. It wasn’t the scent Akira remembered, but he could get used to it. Moreover, his lips felt the same, moved with the same rhythm that haunted each of his dreams. “I missed you, I missed you, I can’t believe you’re here-”  


Goro laughed, wetly and shakily. He was the most beautiful Akira had ever seen him, with tear-streaked cheeks and puffy eyes. His ponytail, once crisp and perfect, was gorgeously disheveled. His lips were still a bit red from the kiss, and Akira indulged himself in a quick taste. “What was it that you always said to me? ‘Honey, I’m home?’”  


“There it is,” a new voice chimed in. Akira tilted his head just enough to see Morgana at the foot of the top of the stairs. “Futaba’s on her way over. I bet she wants to see her big bro…”  


Akira sighed, pushing himself away from Goro’s embrace. He already felt too cold, even with their fingers entwined. “I’m still not letting go. I don’t think I’ll be able to.”  


The other nodded, closing his eyes gently, placing a lingering kiss on the shell of Akira’s ear. “I won’t let you. I’m here, my love. For good.”  


And finally,  _ finally,  _ Akira felt the butterflies in his stomach settle.   


**Author's Note:**

> Tayani: [Twitter](https://twitter.com/mikan_writings) and [tumblr](https://mikan-writings.tumblr.com/)  
Me: [Twitter](https://twitter.com/n00dl3gal) and [tumblr](https://tumblr.com/n00dl3gal)  
[Commission info](https://n00dl3gal.tumblr.com/post/187155394512/writing-commissions-open)


End file.
